Category Archives: Blog

The beautiful and terrible majesty of our natural world was on full display Saturday.

A massive undersea volcano near the Pacific nation of Tonga erupted with such force that it prompted near-immediate tsunami warnings for Hawaii, Alaska, and the entire West Coast of the United States, all of which are situated more than 3,000 miles away (the latter two are more than 5,000 miles away). The National Weather Service canceled Hawaii’s warning several hours later but let the ones for Alaska and the West Coast stand.

Much more immediately concerning is the situation in Tonga, a Polynesian country situated about 1,500 miles to the north of New Zealand. The incident effectively knocked the nation offline, with an AP report suggesting it was because the cable from Fiji that supplies its internet was damaged. But dramatic footage captured by satellites and people on the ground points to severe impacts.

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Some of the footage that’s out there is difficult to source given the communications breakdown that occurred when the volcano erupted. But the Tonga Geological Service’s Facebook page is sharing a steady stream of warnings and public notices discussing ongoing threats to public safety.

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Satellite views of the incident, meanwhile, paint a clear picture of the eruption’s intensity. The blast was clearly visible from space, with multiple views from an assortment of satellites showing a massive plume of smoke and ash suddenly emerging from a cloud-covered Pacific Ocean.

The volcano, which is called Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, is situated just under 20 miles off the coast of Tonga. The Jan. 15 eruption is actually the third in recent weeks, following a smaller blast on Jan. 13 and a more extended one that started on Dec. 20 and lasted for most of a week. During the first of those three eruptions, the volcanic island also grew larger.

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Impacts in the U.S. have been less severe so far, but the existence of any impacts spanning so much distance speaks to the intensity of the explosion. Surging waves prompted evacuations and minor flooding in parts of California. The breadth of the tsunami warning alone is unusual for this type of event.

“We don’t issue an advisory for this length of coastline as we’ve done — I’m not sure when the last time was — but it really isn’t an everyday experience,” Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator for the National Tsunami Warning Center, told the AP.

DirecTV subscribers who like their news and opinion as far to the right as it can get will have to look elsewhere soon.

The major satellite TV provider will drop One America News Network when its contract expires in April, Bloomberg reported Friday. OANN had been available to DirecTV subscribers since 2017 and it rose to prominence in the wake of the 2020 presidential election, as the network continued to push conspiracy theories about the election even as Fox News stepped back from that particular ledge.

DirecTV didn’t give specific reasoning for the decision, but in a statement given to Bloomberg, it said the move was tied to a “routine internal review.”

However, one doesn’t need to look far to understand why a satellite provider with millions of subscribers would shy away from carrying OANN. Competitors like Comcast and Dish have never carried it and YouTube demonetized and suspended OANN’s channel in 2021 for pushing misinformation. To call OANN “controversial” would be an understatement; the network’s support of Donald Trump’s repeatedly debunked allegations of election fraud has already prompted legal action.

Most interestingly, though, Reuters reported in 2021 that OANN got as much as 90 percent of its revenue from contracts with AT&T, which is a majority owner of DirecTV following a corporate spin-off a year ago. John Oliver even sounded off on AT&T for funding the network on his show, which itself is bankrolled by AT&T. Per the Reuters story, OANN’s accountant testified under oath that the network would have practically no value without the DirecTV deal.

In other words, the far-right news network could face serious financial troubles in the near future if it can’t find an equally bountiful source of funds. We don’t wish them luck on that venture.

Mark Zuckerberg can change his company’s name all he wants, but that won’t stop the government from looking into its business practices.

The latest round of government probes into the company now known as Meta actually centers on Oculus, its VR hardware and software subsidiary, per Bloomberg. The FTC along with the state governments of New York, North Carolina, and Tennessee have spoken to VR developers about alleged antitrust violations.

Put simply, there are concerns that Oculus is kneecapping third party VR app developers and undercutting competing VR hardware. The latter is easy enough to explain; the Quest 2 headset is a steal at just $299 without any requirement for a powerful PC. Other high-end headsets like the Valve Index cost hundreds more and are basically paperweights without a sufficiently beefy gaming PC.

Bloomberg’s report doesn’t get into how Oculus could potentially suffer consequences for its prices, but it’s worth pointing out that competitive pricing by itself is not an antitrust violation. The FTC’s website states that it would be problematic if “below-cost pricing allows a dominant competitor to knock its rivals out of the market and then raise prices to above-market levels for a substantial time,” but also acknowledges that such a phenomenon is unlikely.

As for the app concerns, developers told Bloomberg that Meta had essentially shut down third-party Oculus apps with appealing features and then launched its own takes on those ideas later on. One example given was Yur, a company that made an Oculus fitness tracker that was subsequently disabled from working within Oculus games and made somewhat obsolete by the first-party Oculus Move function.

This probe is seemingly still in its early stages, so it may be a while before anything comes out of it, if anything comes out of it at all. At this point it’s mostly noteworthy as the latest in a long list of government looks into Meta’s operations. Just in the past 12 months, Meta has faced an investigation for racist hiring practices and been the subject of a Senate hearing over knowingly fostering misinformation on Facebook.

So far, that new name hasn’t changed much.

Another work week down! And a long weekend ahead of us to boot. You simply love to see it.

Phew. Take a breath. Make some tea. Lie down. Pet your dog, or maybe get a dog if you don’t have a dog, and don’t have allergies. I don’t know.

Guess what? I collected some good tweets for you. How about that? Maybe kick your weekend off by reading these suckers and having a laugh.

Here they are, the 11 best tweets of the week.

1. Every day, all the time

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2. The laws of science are very clear on this

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3. “And this is, uh, the fucking Disney channel”

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4. Obligatory dril tweet

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5. Just do some retweets and chill

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6. Sometimes you just want an immediate problem and not an existential one

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7. “Joy is off today”

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8. We’re all such overachievers

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9. Let’s get the cast iron purists angry

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10. Fair and true

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11. And finally, the Big Soup

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Evidence continues to pile up that Google is hopping on the foldable phone train soon.

A new report from 9to5Google this week said Google’s rumored foldable device, which could launch by the end of 2022, may be called “Pixel Notepad” and come in at a more reasonable price point than the $1,799 Samsung demands for its Galaxy Z Fold 3, released last year. The report didn’t put a specific number on the price, so even if it’s less than $1,799, it may still be prohibitively expensive whenever it comes out.

9to5Google also emphasized that the “Pixel Notepad” name could change prior to the device’s announcement. Apparently, at one point it was referred to internally as “Logbook.” Actual technical specifics about the unconfirmed device are scant, of course, but 9to5Google previously reported that it would run on the new Tensor chips that power the Pixel 6 phones. Aside from that, some art found in a recent Android 12 beta build suggests in almost square 7:8 aspect ratio when fully unfolded.

Whispers of a foldable Pixel have been going around since at least February of last year. At the time, folks were calling it “Pixel Fold” and some thought it could come out by the end of 2021. Obviously, that didn’t happen. Not only is it not in our hands, but we don’t even know what it’s called, what it looks like, or if it truly exists. 

But if Google can make a quality foldable that doesn’t cost three times as much as some people’s rent, that could be a big deal.

Bradley Cooper is the latest Late Show guest to take on Stephen Colbert’s signature Q&A gauntlet, the “Questionert”.

For the right participant, the late night host’s rapid-fire battery of innocent yet piercingly personal questions paints a fuller picture of the answerer than a million bog-standard “So how did you get your start in acting?” press tour questions could ever uncover. Cooper is one such “right participant”; squeezing his eyes shut, the Nightmare Alley star carefully listens to every question and then fires off the first answer that pops into his head.

We learn, for example, that Cooper fears Komodo dragons, loves the classical composer Mahler (even as he admits he’s currently working on a Leonard Bernstein biopic), and — correctly, in this author’s humble opinion — prefers dogs to cats. He’s also got a very specific opinion on his favorite sandwich.

Sometimes a phone can do pretty much everything right and still be sorta hard to recommend. That’s where I’m at with the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE.

Samsung’s latest (the FE stands for “Fan Edition”) is somewhat of reimagining of last year’s Galaxy S21. On paper and, for the most part, in practice, it’s an impressive offer: A bigger screen and bigger battery to go along with a similar triple-camera array and the same premium Qualcomm Snapdragon processor as the S21 for $100 less. Last year’s flagship S21 launched at $800 and the S21 FE retails at $700.

And all of that is fine! It’s good, even. This is a really nice Android phone that’s a better value than the original S21. But the “Fan Edition” part of the name is apt; unless you’re really devoted to Samsung’s product ecosystem, there are better values out there in the world of mid-range Android phones.

A beefy lad

The first thing you’re likely to notice once you get your hands on the S21 FE is that it’s not exactly small. In fact, it’s actually a little bit bigger than the more expensive S21. Sorry if you have small hands — this phone isn’t for you.

Here’s exactly how the specs shake out on the S21 FE versus its older counterpart:

• 6.4-inch AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate vs. 6.2-inch on S21

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G processor in both phones

• Rear triple-camera array: 12MP wide and ultrawide lenses, 8MP telephoto vs. 64MP telephoto lens on S21

• 32MP front camera vs.10MP on S21

• 4,500mAh battery vs. 4,000mAh on S21

• Either 6GB or 8GB RAM vs. 8GB only for S21

• 128 or 256GB storage on both phones

In other words, this is a slightly bigger phone than the S21 with an incredibly high refresh rate, a high-end processor, and slightly altered cameras. You’ll have to spend $770 for the model with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, which makes it only a $30 discount from last year’s 8GB/128GB model. That’s…not a great value, honestly. An extra year (plus the imminent announcement of 2022’s Samsung flagships) would’ve ideally reduced the price just a bit more.

Aside from those differences, the two phones are physically and functionally pretty similar. Like the S21, the S21 FE has a razor-thin bezel around the display with the selfie cam nested in a hole-punch slot at the top center of the screen. All three rear cameras are stacked in a vertical, rectangular bump on the plastic backside of the phone. Power and volume buttons adorn the right side while the bottom features a USB-C port for charging and a SIM slot. And finally, the S21 FE comes in four colors: graphite, lavender, white, and olive.

As I hinted at before, the size of the S21 FE is going to be a turn-off for some people, myself included. I don’t have especially small hands but I still have to two-hand the phone to navigate Instagram and Twitter because the system-level back button is on the bottom right corner of the screen, while many apps put important functions (like Instagram Stories) on the upper left corner. I recently had to replace my iPhone and went with the 2020 SE model simply because it’s smaller than the newer, fancier models.

Tech companies, please give us more phones we can use with one hand.

I also strongly feel that a more budget-friendly take on a flagship should include a 3.5mm headphone jack, but the S21 FE doesn’t have one. People who want cheaper versions of phones may not have expensive Bluetooth headphones and shouldn’t have to buy a USB-C dongle just to use their wired earbuds. There are several ways in which 2020’s Google Pixel 5a is a better value than the S21 FE (and we’ll get to some of them later), but a major one is that Google’s $450 handset has a headphone jack.

Oh, one more thing: Samsung says the S21 FE is capable of fast charging like the other S21 models, but the FE doesn’t come with a charger at all. A USB-C cable is included in the package, but I couldn’t test out the fast charging because I wasn’t going to shell out $50 for an official charging brick from Samsung. Big thumbs down to all of that.

More size doesn’t mean less speed

Samsung may have cut corners to (marginally) downsize the S21 FE’s price, but the good news is that performance didn’t take a hit.

The Snapdragon 888 5G processor from last year’s phones is still here and still provides plenty of juice for all your daily smartphone tasks. I could switch from researching the amusing, extremely southern names of Georgia Bulldogs quarterbacks over the years (shout out to current Bulldogs like Stetson Bennett IV and Jack Vandagriff) to yammering about those names to my friends on Twitter and Discord without a hitch. All the while, I was streaming podcasts from Spotify and occasionally bopping over to YouTube to watch game highlights or other such distractions.

This is admittedly helped by the blazing fast 120Hz refresh rate. Everything just feels so smooth. A couple of other quick things to note about usability: Unlocking the phone via facial recognition and the in-display fingerprint sensor both worked almost flawlessly for me. The fingerprint sensor on the S21 was irksome for our reviewer last year, but not for me this time around.

I sincerely don’t have any complaints about the moment-to-moment process of using the S21 FE. I only wish I could do it for longer without needing to plug in.

Bigger battery, but could be better

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the S21 FE is its battery life. I can’t directly compare it to an S21 because I don’t have one of those on hand, but the big increase in the spec sheet wasn’t really reflected when I actually used the dang thing.

To be more specific, I got about 12 hours out of a full charge while doing the things I always do on my phone: Streaming podcasts, vomiting my brain’s wastewater out onto my Twitter feed, occasionally watching YouTube videos, reading articles about sports, and chatting with the homies on Discord. This also included a couple of relatively brief (about 45 minutes total) excursions outside into the 5G zone (more on that in a second), which may have put a little more stress on the battery.

I suppose dropping the refresh rate down to 60Hz would save some battery, but why the heck would I do that? The brilliant display is one of the main selling points of this phone. Compromising that just to compensate for a battery that could be better goes against everything I believe.

That’s a tad dramatic, but the point is that there are other Android phones in this price range that can last much, much longer. For instance, Google’s Pixel 6 starts at $600 and can get you through an entire day. You don’t even need to shell out the extra few Benjamins for the Pixel 6 Pro to get a battery that’s easily better than what’s on offer in the S21 FE.

5G still isn’t reliable

As a quick aside, the S21 FE is a 5G-compatible phone and Samsung helpfully provided a 5G-ready SIM card from T-Mobile for testing purposes. As always, the quality of 5G service varies greatly not only depending on which city you’re in, but it’s literally also down to which street you’re on at times. However, T-Mobile is supposed to have the best 5G service around. That was not my experience.

I was able to get some decent download speeds in my Brooklyn neighborhood, topping out at around 300Mbps. That’s fine! The only problem is the network couldn’t sustain that consistently. Trying to watch YouTube videos on the go in 1080p or higher resulted in frequent buffering breaks if I happened to round a corner where the signal wasn’t strong enough.

If, for some reason, 5G is a major selling point of the S21 FE for you, I can’t promise a great experience in that regard.

Capable cameras

I’m not real thrilled about certain aspects of the S21 FE, like the battery life or the price. But Samsung usually doesn’t mess around with its phone cameras, and I’m happy to report that you can still get some really great shots on this slightly downgraded set of lenses.

In particular, I was impressed by the nighttime photography feature. This is standard fare in plenty of phones now, but sometimes post-processing for dark photos makes them look a little too much like they take place in fake daytime instead of capturing the feel of being out in darkness. Nighttime is great. It’s atmospheric. My fellow Michael Mann-heads understand this; Collateral would look like crap if it took place during the day.

Anyway, nighttime shots on the S21 FE look nice.

Of course, portrait mode is here, too, and I’ve got no qualms with how those shots come out on S21 FE. You can adjust blur intensity on the fly to produce just the right bokeh effect for your photos.

The most noteworthy downgrade from the old S21 is that the 64MP telephoto lens was replaced with a measly 8MP one. As a result, highly zoomed in shots don’t look super sharp. You’re allowed to zoom as high as 30x, but I wouldn’t recommend that. Every shot I took like that turned out blurry and ugly.

Just look at what the telephoto lens did to my boy Gengar!

For all the grousing I’ve done about various setbacks with the S21 FE, at least the cameras are still pretty darn good.

For Samsung fans only

On its merits, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is a high-performing Android phone that doesn’t cost as much as a flagship, with a solid set of cameras and an excellent display. I’d easily recommend it in a vacuum. Unfortunately for Samsung, we’re not in a vacuum and there are just better values out there for Android lovers.

I just can’t see a compelling reason to go with this phone over either the Pixel 5a or Pixel 6. The former is a massive discount at $450 and has a much better battery, terrific cameras, and the all-important headphone jack. The only downside is the 60Hz refresh rate. If you want a higher refresh rate and don’t care about a headphone jack, the Pixel 6 is only $600 and delivers a 120Hz display to go along with a similarly excellent battery and Google’s great cameras.

The best case I can make for the S21 FE is if you really care about seamless connectivity between your phone and external Samsung devices like the Galaxy Buds 2. However, you can just download the Galaxy Wearable app from the Play Store, so even that is a minor inconvenience at worst.

If you’re a massive Samsung fan and can’t deal with Android phones from other brands, you’ll find plenty to like about the Galaxy S21 FE. Everyone else should get a Pixel.

If you’ve already blown through your Netflix and Hulu libraries, maybe it’s time to give Paramount+ a spin. Since Paramount has been making movies since 1916, its catalog of films is deep. Seriously. Imagine John Wayne Westerns on the same streamer as Sonic the Hedgehog! It’s madness, and we love it. Movies forever!

Below, 14 of our favorite movies from Paramount’s library to watch now on Paramount+.

1. Bridget Jones’s Diary

Bridget Jones’s Diary is a perfect movie, and we’re not hearing any opinions to the contrary, thank you! Renée Zellweger gained 20 pounds to snag the role of Bridget, already a beloved character in the UK thanks to Helen Fielding’s wildly popular Bridget Jones novels. The Brits were in an uproar about an American being cast in a role that was archetypally British, but Zellweger’s performance (and accent!) were so spot-on, the complaints quickly gave way to rave reviews.

The start of a film franchise, and the best movie of the lot, Bridget Jones’s Diary introduces us to an ordinary 30-something woman in London who, after turning 32 alone, vows to lose weight, quit smoking, stop drinking, and find love. Enter Hugh Grant as Bridget’s preternaturally charming boss, and, because this is a Pride and Prejudice adaptation after all, Colin Firth as the man who couldn’t seem more wrong for Bridget (his name is literally Mr. Darcy!!!). Even if you know where this funny and grounded rom-com is going, you’re sure to have a blast along the way.

How to watch: Bridget Jones’s Diary is now streaming on Paramount+.

2. A Quiet Place 

John Krasinski went from actor to celebrated director with this spine-tingling 2018 hit. Starring opposite his real-life wife Emily Blunt, The Office star plays a farmer dedicated to protecting his family from killer creatures that hunt by sound. This clever premise means the movie’s characters can’t scream, because such a sound would definitely be their last. That means your own sounds of terror are weaponized while watching, crashing into the silent soundscape that’s suffocating in tension.

Ruthlessly paced and keenly realized, A Quiet Place is a superbly scary thrill ride. But what makes it top-tier are the poignant performances by Krasinski, Blunt, and their onscreen children, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. Together, they make a family-frightening feature that’s perfect for a quiet night at home. And if you dare to double-feature, the spooky sequel, A Quiet Place: Part II, is also available. — Kristy Puchko, Deputy Entertainment Editor *

How to watch: A Quiet Place is now streaming on Paramount+.

3. Flight 

When his plane suffers a mechanical failure that threatens to doom the flight, airline pilot William “Whip” Whitaker manages a miraculous landing that saves the lives of everyone on board. At first, he’s hailed as a hero, but when an investigation into the incident reveals new details, his heroism is called into question. Denzel Washington received an Academy Award nomination for his extraordinary portrayal of a flawed and complex man in this Robert Zemeckis-directed drama. Flight is a meaty and exciting film, a character study that keeps us on the edge of our seats. Just… don’t watch it on a plane, OK? That would not be a smart thing to do.

How to watch: Flight is now streaming on Paramount+.

4. Election

Never forget that Reese Witherspoon wasn’t always America’s beaming sweetheart. In Alexander Payne’s vicious high-school political satire, she’s Tracy Flick, the terrifyingly ambitious overachiever willing to do whatever it takes to win the race for student body president. Matthew Broderick shook off the long shadow of Ferris Bueller to play the embittered teacher who just can’t stand to see her sail to the success she thinks she deserves, and slowly drives himself mad trying to get in her way. More than 20 years (and several bruising election cycles) later, its edges are as sharp as ever. — Caitlin Welsh, Entertainment Reporter *

How to watch: Election is now streaming on Paramount+.

5. To Catch a Thief

An Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece, To Catch a Thief is a half-suspense, half-romance whodunnit against a sparkling Mediterranean backdrop. Cary Grant is smooth as ever as John Robie, a reformed jewel thief now living a quiet life in the French Riviera. But when a string of new robberies puts him under suspicion, he’ll have to find the real culprit before he takes the blame. 

Grace Kelly is literally glowing in this film, playing one of the rich tourists whose belongings were stolen, and her sumptuous Edith Head costumes are truly iconic. To Catch a Thief is one of those gorgeous classics where no one has a job and everyone speaks in witty double entendres. It’s a mischievous, flirtatious movie that makes you want to put on an enormous hat and move to Monaco — which is what Grace Kelly did: It was during the production of Thief that she met her future husband, the Prince of Monaco!

How to watch: To Catch a Thief is now streaming on Paramount+.

6. Hugo

Hugo Cabret (Sex Education‘s Asa Butterfield, but your kids don’t know that!) lives alone in a Paris train station, trying to understand mysteries left behind by his late father (Jude Law), including a robot that can write with a pen. Hugo befriends Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) in a shared thirst for adventure which takes them through her godfather’s past and love for film — slowly but surely piecing together what connects them all to each other. Nothing like getting the youngins hooked on Martin Scorsese! — Proma Khosla, Entertainment Reporter *

How to watch: Hugo is now streaming on Paramount+.

7. Escape from Alcatraz

Based on an audacious real-life jailbreak, this classic action film stars Clint Eastwood as a convict as tough as he is clever. Frank Morris has a long list of offenses and a string of escapes on his record. So as soon as he arrives at a high-security prison, he’s searching for a way out. But the prison’s bars, guards, and regulations aren’t the greatest obstacle.

Alcatraz sits on an island far off the shore of San Francisco. Can Frank and his friends (Paul Benjamin, Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward, and Larry Hankin) make their way to freedom through the freezing waters on a homemade (well, cell-made) raft? Director Don Siegel brings a snarling edge to this tense tale of hardened men, yearning for freedom. — K.P. *

How to watch: Escape from Alcatraz is now streaming on Paramount+.

8. Arrival

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill alien flick. Arrival is a moody, complex science fiction drama where 12 extraterrestrial ships land across the globe… and wait. Countries scramble to make contact, to decipher meaning from the aliens’ presence. Enter Amy Adams as Louise Banks, a linguist assigned to study the alien’s language from their USA parking spot in Montana. The closer she comes to understanding the visitors’ intentions, the more her perception of the world around her begins to change. Arrival is scenic and existential, pairing high-concept philosophical questions with sweeping shots of the Montana plains. It’s suspenseful, provocative, and atmospheric — a winning combination for science fiction. And it goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway, Amy Adams is (as always!) at the top of her game here.

How to watch: Arrival is now streaming on Paramount+.

9. His Girl Friday

This classic screwball rom-com, adapted from the play The Front Page, sees star reporter Hildy Johnson take on one last assignment with her editor ex-husband before she gets out of the game for good to re-marry and retire to a quiet life of motherhood. If you’re a little burned out on contemporary comedy, there’s nothing better for the soul than watching a dame with moxie stalk around in gorgeous skirt suits tossing out rapid-fire banter in a Mid-Atlantic accent, and Rosalind Russell, as Hildy Johnson, does it better than just about anyone. Throw in Cary Grant as the former boss who’s still in love with her — and gives as good as he gets — and this 70-year-old film still crackles with energy and wit. — C.W. *

How to watch: His Girl Friday is now streaming on Paramount+.

10. Life is Beautiful

Looking to cry your face off? Life is Beautiful is here for you. One of the highest-grossing non-English language films of all time, this touching Italian drama, once seen, will sear itself into your memory so you clutch your heart each time you think of it. Roberto Benigni, along with directing and writing the film, stars as a young Jewish father in 1940s Italy. When his family is taken to an internment camp, he shields his son from the truth of the situation by pretending they are in a complex game, where tasks like hiding from the guards will earn him extra points. It’s a deeply affecting film, able to spark laughter and tears in equal measure. If you haven’t seen it, put it at the top of your list — and bring tissues.

How to watch: Life is Beautiful is now streaming on Paramount+.

11. Saint Maud 

In 2020, writer/helmer Rose Glass made a jaw-dropping directorial debut with this riveting psychological horror film. In a squalid seaside town, Maud (Morfydd Clark) is a pious young nurse who is fanatically dedicated to God. Hired as a private hospice caretaker for dying artist Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), Maud develops a dark fascination for her patient’s lust for life, booze, and Sapphic sex.

Their volatile bond is electric with temptation and conflict, which ignites as Maud steps up her quest to save Amanda’s soul. A battle of wills bends into the surreal as visual effects and a sound design reflect the world from Maud’s perspective. Punctuated with goosebump-pumping violence, swaddled in a sophisticated color palette of warmth and rot, and threaded by inky sexual tension, Saint Maud is uniquely intoxicating and unnerving experience that’ll leave you in horrified awe. — K.P. *

How to watch: Saint Maud is now streaming on Paramount+.

12. Mean Girls

There’s a reason why, over 15 years later, we’re still joking “You can’t sit with us!!!” when our friends meet us late for dinner. Mean Girls set the standard for teen comedies in the early 2000s. The Tina Fey-penned flick was a box office behemoth when it debuted in 2004, and it shows no signs of fading out of relevance any time soon. Lindsay Lohan is Cady Heron, a formerly home-schooled teenager with no clue how to navigate the strict and punishing social hierarchy of North Shore High School. Her new friends, themselves social misfits, push her to infiltrate the popular crowd so they can ultimately take down the Queen Bee, a flawless Rachel McAdams. 

Mean Girls is hilarious, endlessly quotable, and a piercingly accurate take on the stakes of popularity in 2000s American high schools. Luckily, since “On Wednesdays, we wear pink” and “She doesn’t even go here!” have firmly taken root in our collective cultural consciousness, we can keep enjoying this gem for decades to come. 

How to watch: Mean Girls is now streaming on Paramount+.

13. Minority Report

All the best science-fiction flicks are based on Philip K. Dick stories. First Blade Runner, then Total Recall, and in 2002, the mind-warping thriller Minority Report. The year is 2054, and America has won the war on crime by instituting the “Precrime” program, which utilizes future-telling technology to arrest people before they actually commit their foretold crime. Precrime Officer John Anderton (Tom Cruise) strongly believes in the power of his department, until his name appears on the arrest list for an upcoming murder. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Minority Report  is a complex science fiction story, a gripping action movie, and a suspenseful mystery film all-in-one.

How to watch: Minority Report is now streaming on Paramount+.

14. The Conversation

Sometimes the difference between life and death can hang on a single word.

No one understands this better than surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), who has been hired to record a conversation between a couple as they stroll around a San Francisco park. A paranoid and isolated man by nature, Harry becomes obsessed with understanding who this couple is and what they meant by what was said.

But in chasing down the motive of his mysterious client, he steps out of the shadows and into an uncomfortable spotlight. That move might be his last. A supremely suspenseful mystery, this classic from writer/director Francis Ford Coppola has wowed audiences, critics, and the Academy, boasting three Oscar nominations, including a nod for Best Picture. — K.P. *

How to watch: The Conversation is now streaming on Paramount+.

*Asterisks indicate the writeup is adapted from another Mashable article.

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Welcome to AirFryDay, where — you guessed it — every Friday Mashable covers the latest trends, dispenses advice, and reviews recipes for your air fryer.

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Let’s get this out of the way: This isn’t really a recipe for an air fryer hot pocket. It’s called that by the recipe creator, but think of it more as a sandwich pocket.

The term hot pocket conjures up images of greasy pepperoni, melty cheese, and a thin, pizza-dough-esque crust. Usually it’s in reference to the brand Hot Pocket, which is owned by Nestle. But this recipe, from Zach Rocheleau on TikTok, delivers a low-cal version of something akin to a Hot Pocket. And that ain’t half bad.

The idea from Rocheleau is simple. Stuff a sandwich with turkey, avocado, cheese, and roasted red peppers, air fry, and enjoy. Here are the basic instructions for making two pockets, which Rocheleau says come in around 300 calories apiece.

Ingredients

• Butter bread — four pieces

• Deli turkey — about four slices

• Avocado — about one-half of an avocado, smashed

• Shredded cheese

• Roasted red peppers

• Egg whites

Directions

1. With a rolling pin or similar tool, roll each piece of bread until it is fully flat and thin.

2. Paint the edges of the bread with egg whites.

3. Put a large pinch of cheese in the center of one piece of bread.

4. Drop two rolled pieces of turkey on top of the cheese.

5. Lay roasted red peppers on top of the turkey until totally covered.

6. Smoosh a large scoop of smashed avocado on top of the ingredients.

7. Brush the top piece of bread with egg whites, then drop it on top of the stacked piece of bread. The egg white side should face down.

8. Pinch the sandwich closed with your fingers then, using a fork, crimp the edges of the bread to create a seal.

9. Brush the outside edges of the sealed pocket with egg whites.

10. Repeat steps 1-9 to make a second pocket.

11. Spray the air fryer basket and pockets with oil or nonstick.

12. Air fry at 400 degrees for about five minutes or until bread is golden brown and toasty.

The details

First things first — here’s how the cooking process looked, overall, for Rocheleau. The TikTok laying out this recipe has racked up some 2.5 million views.

Clearly I understood that this would not be an ooey-gooey hot pocket. Granted, you could likely stuff buttered bread with cheese and pepperoni to achieve that result. But in some ways, this recipe was even better.

It’s so simple! It’s so hard to screw up! It’s tasty! A few things I messed up that didn’t end up mattering:

• I didn’t have a rolling pin but used an empty rice wine bottle.

• I made a huge mess when I brushed my egg whites .

• I cracked the bread open while closing it up, leaving a massive gash.

There’s truly not too much to add to the recipe. It’s not trying to be ground breaking – it’s trying to make lunch easy and healthy.

Here are my ingredients, ready to rock. Pro tip: Squeeze some lime juice into the avocado to keep it from browning if you need to pause for a bit to take pictures.

Here is my bread rolled out. It took barely any pressure to do.

Here are the ingredients all crimped up and with a slightly broken seal that turned out fine. Closing the pocket is relatively delicate work, but the toasting process is forgiving. Rocheleau himself mentioned this will happen and that it is fine.

Here are the hot pockets fully cooked in the air fryer. Easy.

And a cross section.

So, again, not really a Hot Pocket. It’s a little pocket sandwich. And it was good! The turkey and cheese bring the savory while the red peppers and avocado add a bit of freshness.

This recipe takes a good sandwich and contains it, melts cheese, and makes things toasty and crispy. I can see myself using this as a base for lunches in the future. A “hot pocket” or leftover chicken, veggies, and some cheese? Why not.

I definitely recommend this recipe. It’s easy and supremely hard to mess up. After all, what’s not to love about a warm sandwich you can eat on the go?

Bad news for Netflix fans. The streaming service is increasing prices in the U.S. and Canada. 

On Friday, Netflix quietly changed the pricing for all three subscription plans: 

• Basic plan increases $1 per month from $8.99 to $9.99

• Standard plan increases $1.50 from $13.99 to $15.49

• Premium plan goes up $2 from $17.99 to $19.99

According to the company’s website, the new prices will immediately apply to new subscribers. Existing subscribers, on the other hand, will see the price hikes gradually take effect. 

“Current members will receive an email notification 30 days before their price changes, unless they change their plan,” the streaming service says.

The last time Netflix increased prices in the U.S. was in October 2020. Prior to that, the company raised the fees in January 2019. So users might be annoyed with three recent price hikes. The price increases become especially stark if you look at them annually. A premium plan now goes for $239.88 per year while the standard plan costs $185.88 for 12 months. 

Netflix didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But in the past, the company has said the price hikes are needed to fund the original TV shows and movies the streaming service is constantly churning out. 

Netflix is also facing growing competition from other streaming providers including HBO Max, Disney+, and Amazon Video. In last year’s third quarter, Netflix reported having 213 million paying subscribers across the globe. However, user growth in U.S. and Canada has been stagnating at around 73-74 million users in recent quarters.